How did McLaren ruin Porsche’s last shot at ‘entering’ F1 in 2026?
Porsche has decided to put their plan of entering F1 on hold following failed talks with McLaren.
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Porsche and McLaren
Porsche had been the talk of the paddock a few months back having announced its intention to join Formula 1. With the rules and regulations changing in order to entice engine manufacturers to join the sport, it was clear that the Volkswagen group was not going to miss this opportunity. While they did not want to have their own team on the grid, the German manufacturer was keen on partnering up.
The company’s first and obvious choice was Red Bull Racing. With the team starting to make their own engines in the future, they were the prime prospects. However, after months of speculation, the deal did not go through. Although, the Automobile giant wasn’t gonna stop there as the 2026 rules to pursue sustainability in F1’s fuels were too good to not pursue. The manufacturer made it clear that they will be evaluating other options.
With the Red Bull Porsche deal falling through in September last year, the manufacturer was still keen on becoming a part of F1. However, they have now confirmed the fact that their Formula 1 project has been put on hold. The company will pursue motorsport projects in other series. They already have a Formula E team and are very active in the endurance motorsports racing category.
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Porsche rethinks it’s commitments following it’s failed attempts to get into F1
Porsche confirmed their plans for the near future in a statement. Motorsport will always be at the core of our brand identity,” said a statement from the company. “Formula 1 remains an interesting racing series for us,” they said. This has sparked many conversations revolving around the possibility of them finding one way or another to join F1 in 2026.
The Automotive giant is currently committed to racing in WEC and IMSA, as well as FE. They also mentioned about its other activities: “There, we want to fight for overall victories. That’s our tradition and our main focus,” they said. While all this is said and done, it is important to note that McLaren also had a substantial role to play in Porsche’s decision making progress.
What role did McLaren have in all of this?
While it is obvious that the German car manufacturer won’t be seen in the pinnacle of motorsport for the coming years at least, there could have been a good chance that they would have partnered with McLaren. After talks with Red Bull were a no go, Porsche had to look elsewhere on the Formula 1 grid in order to pursue their goal. McLaren was one of them.
Porsche is owned by the Volkswagen group and so is Audi. The latter was in talks with McLaren over the possibility of acquiring a stake in the F1 team but it didn’t go their way. In came the German manufacturer which discussed the possibility of taking a stake in the F1 team. This was in order to have a collaboration that would lead to the creation of a joint special edition vehicle and an SUV. The idea was considered but did come to fruition as discussions did go very far.
The Volkswagen group will still have involvement in F1
The automobile manufacturer was in talks with McLaren and Williams for a stake in the team. The royal family in Bahrain has a big stake in the McLaren group via its sovereign wealth fund called the Mumtalakat. The talks between the two parties lasted for a few months. However, they did not go forward as they failed to reach a conclusion.
Meanwhile, Audi has joined forces with Sauber having acquired a 25% stake in the team. Sauber will further go on to act as the factory team for Audi going into 2026. With F1’s new regulations for 2026, a lot more manufacturers and companies have shown some interest. The Formula 1 dream for Porsche however stops here for a brief amount of time. It will be interesting to see if they pursue this goal in the upcoming years.
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Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)